R Ashwin Reveals Reason Behind Sudden Retirement: 'I Would Rather Be At Home'

Indian spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin revealed his international retirement stemmed from sitting out Test matches on away tours. His decision, which surprised many, came during last December's Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. Meanwhile, coach Rahul Dravid lauded Rohit Sharma's clear captaincy, highlighting their successful captain-coach partnership which led India to the T20 World Cup victory.

Ashwin's Test Retirement Rationale

Ravichandran Ashwin's "abrupt international retirement" surprised many during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last December. He announced his departure after the third Test in Brisbane. Ashwin became only the second Indian bowler to take over 500 Test wickets, after Anil Kumble.

Explaining his decision during a chat with former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid on Dravid's YouTube channel, Ashwin stated, "'I was pretty old, I must admit. But going on tours, and having to just sit out (a) lot more, eventually got to me'."

He reflected, "'I mean, not in terms of not wanting to contribute to the team, but you're thinking if I would rather be at home, spending time with children. They are also growing up, and what am I actually doing?'" Ashwin elaborated, "'So I just felt like okay... In my head, I always decided that I would retire at 34-35. But just the fact that I could not play a lot in between...'"

Ashwin, who made his Test debut in November 2011, took 383 wickets in 65 Tests played in India. He secured another 150 wickets in 40 away matches. In the sole neutral Test, the 2019-21 World Test Championship final against New Zealand in the UK, he claimed four wickets.

Rohit Sharma's Leadership Vision

Rahul Dravid highlighted Rohit Sharma's leadership qualities, noting his calmness and "deep care" for his team. Rohit clearly communicated his thoughts, making them a "successful captain-coach pairing." With Rohit and Dravid at the helm, the Indian team enjoyed a "terrific run" in white-ball cricket, reaching the 2023 ODI World Cup final and winning the T20 World Cup the following year.

Dravid shared, "'It was really good. The thing with Rohit that I always felt was that he deeply cared about the team and he was, right from the first day, he was very clear about how he wanted to run the team and what was important to him'."

Dravid believes this clarity is crucial for a captain-coach relationship. He explained, "'I always like to believe that it should be the captain's team'." Dravid added, "'a captain has to lead in terms of the direction he wants to go in, and you have to support him and help him in that'." He observed, "'Sometimes you need to help a captain in terms of getting that clarity and understanding what is required'." Rohit's extensive experience also benefited the team.

Building a Comfortable Team Environment

Dravid found Rohit "very clear about what he wanted from the team."

He stated, "'But with Rohit, I thought he was very clear about what he wanted from the team, how he wanted the environment to be, how he wanted the atmosphere to be, and how he wanted things to run'." Rohit's "so much experience over the years... really helped." Dravid's role involved creating a "comfortable environment" for Rohit. He worked on "challenging him at times on certain things," while helping to "ensure that he was able to be comfortable in that space."

Dravid believed a comfortable Rohit would "perform and he was going to get everyone else to perform." Chatting with Rohit on non-cricket matters also strengthened their bond. Dravid enjoyed "'sort of getting to know him as a person and chatting with him'." He recalled, "'There were a lot of times (during) our conversations, we were comfortable enough to be able to sit and have conversations with each other without having to talk only cricket'."

Dravid noted, "'It felt easy spending time in the evening with him to have a meal, you know, I wasn't forced or it wasn't like, oh, we have to convince it and have a meeting'." Dravid concluded by highlighting how he witnessed Rohit "'grow as a person and as a leader'": "'Having seen him as an U-19 kid and given him his first gap as a cricketer to see how he grew as a person and as a leader was actually really nice'."